Burma Road Lift station contract awarded

On June 13, Fernie City Council voted in favour of a staff recommendation to award the Burma Road Lift Station Replacement project to Canadian Western Mechanical. The contractor won the bid for work at a price of $374,000, exclusive of GST.

Two contractors submitted bids for the project by the deadline date of May 24. Cumming Construction Ltd. submitted a bid valued at over $469,000. While Canadian Western Mechanical’s bid was over $100,000 less than the other contractor, city staff believes they will be able to adequately complete the project.

“The City’s consultant has reviewed the bids and have found them to be error free. The low bid meets the requirements of the tender and the contractor is capable and qualified to perform the work,” read the staff report regarding the project, written by Director of Operational Services, Dave Cockwell.

The Burma Road Sanitary Lift Station was built in 1980, and although the city hasn’t experienced any major operational issues with the station, Cockwell believes the station would benefit from an upgrade.

“The inside of [the] steel tank is corroding and components attached to the walls are at risk of detaching; the control panel is outdated, the hydro service is an uncommon size and hydro required this be upgraded with a new service,” read his report.

The motion to support the recommendation passed unopposed. Mayor Mary Giuliano said she was pleased to see the project cost is under budget. The cost of the upgrade was identified in the 2016 Capital Plan.